1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a practice aid used in a ball game, the aid comprising a surface which returns a hit ball in the direction of origin. Usable with diverse games such as tennis, racquetball, baseball, handball, and similar games, the device enables a solitary player to hit a ball and have the ball rebound back to the player, as it would be by a human adversary.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ball game practice devices providing a ball rebound surface are well known, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 1,510,402, issued to William Hopwood on Sep. 30, 1924. Hopwood discloses a practice device having a flat rebound surface intended for the game of lawn tennis.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,066,159, issued to Charles E. Post on Dec. 29, 1936, discloses a practice rebound device having two rebound surfaces of different characteristics disposed upon a vertical wall member. One surface is curved and flat, and the other is textured. The wall member is reversible so as to present one of the two rebound surfaces to the person using the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,088,735, issued to Theodore W. Clark on May 7, 1963, discloses a rebound board which is mountable on a table for playing table tennis. Clark configures the board to return a ball to a predetermined area corresponding to a playing field or court.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,307, issued to Francis B. Henry on Sep. 29, 1972, discloses a practice backboard which is augmented by visual simulation of human adversaries.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,585, issued to Alex Semon on Jan. 16, 1979, discloses a rebound board for a table tennis table which board is curved and bears projections which alter trajectory of a ball hit thereinto. U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,108, issued to David McLean on Apr. 25, 1989, discloses a substantially spherical rebound board for a ball game.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,027, issued to George K. Thaxton on Aug. 29, 1989, discloses a tennis practice apparatus having a rebound surface which controls rebound by damping.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,056, issued to Kevin R. Bowers on Jul. 24, 1990, discloses a table tennis practice apparatus having two rebound surfaces enabling two players to play solo simultaneously. The surfaces are independently adjustable to vary rebound angle.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.